In thermoform packaging machines, a receptacle or a trough is normally formed into a bottom film/foil in a forming station, the trough being then filled with a product and hermetically sealed with a top film in a sealing station under vacuum and/or under a modified atmosphere. The packages produced in this way constitute a compound, which is interconnected via the bottom film, and are conveyed through the thermoform packaging machine by means of clamp chains provided on both sides thereof. For singulating the packages from the compound of bottom and top films, a combination comprising a cross cutting station and a subsequent longitudinal cutting station may be provided. In the cross cutting station, the compound of bottom and top films is cut in a direction transversely to the conveying direction or strip cuts are punched out, if radii should be necessary on the edges of the packages.
Since normally there is not sufficient space for a unit for collecting the strip cuts within the machine frame or for removing them from the machine frame, the punching knife will usually punch the strip cuts out of the film from below in an upward direction. These strip cuts will then be pushed further up in a receiving container after each step and can finally be removed in one go. In high-performance machines, the receiving containers are very high so that they need not be emptied constantly. The strip cuts are here pushed over a projection, which is located above a film conveying plane and on which part of the strip cut punched out last rests with its edge thus preventing the strip cuts stacked thereabove from dropping into the cross cutting station and on the packages to be cut. In the latter case, malfunctions and downtimes would also be caused in the thermoform packaging machine.
Especially if the strip cuts in question are comparatively thin or not flexurally rigid, there will be a high risk that the weight of the stacked strip cuts cannot be held by the lowermost supported strip cut.
EP 2 447 171 A1 discloses a solution for reliably disposing of cutting waste that is discharged upwards, i.e., above the film conveying plane.